Carbon Assessment Company Still Busy With Calls For Appeals Residents Have A Hard Time Getting Open Phone Line For Second Day In A Row At Cole-layer- Trumble, Which Has Promised To Set Up More Lines To Handle All The Calls. Tomorrow's Taxes: Carbon County's Reassessment

March 08, 2000|by DAVID SLADE And BOB LAYLO, The Morning Call

Carbon County residents attempting to question or appeal their property tax assessments encountered jammed telephone lines for a second day Tuesday.

`I tried calling all day,` said Bill Moran of Jim Thorpe, who was trying to schedule an appeal hearing. `I kept redialing and got nothing.`

Moran and others trying to reach Cole-Layer-Trumble, the company that conducted Carbon County's first reassessment in 31 years, reported calling 15 times or more and getting busy signals.

The company promised Tuesday to add two more phones to the five already set up to handle calls, but blamed Bell Atlantic for the busy signals.

Bob Vandermark, project manager for Cole-Layer-Trumble, said there was a mix-up in the way Bell Atlantic set up the phone bank, which left only four of the five lines in service.

Bell Atlantic spokesman Ells Edwards said it's not clear who's to blame, but the lines should be working correctly today.

Vandermark said lines were busy the past two days because the first set of assessments went out to a third of county residents at the same time property descriptions were sent to another third of the county.

As a result, residents in one part of the county were calling to correct data about their homes, such as the number of rooms, while residents in another area were trying to call to schedule assessment appeals.

There are about 46,000 properties in Carbon County, about half of which have homes on them, according to Vandermark.

County Administrator Randall Smith said he visited the company's office Tuesday after he couldn't get through on the phone, but left satisfied with the company's explanation.

`We don't like to have problems like this occurring, but when we looked at it, there was a reason,` Smith said.

The new assessments will be the basis for property taxes in 2001, and residents who believe the new values placed on their properties are too high can schedule hearings to appeal.

Alfreda Lantzy of Palmerton wants to appeal, but said she called at least 15 times Tuesday without success.

`We've been trying since 8:30 in the morning to get through,` she said. `We only have until March 17 to schedule a hearing.`

Property owners who received the first batch of assessment notices have until March 17 to schedule an informal appeal with Cole-Layer-Trumble. However, all property owners have the option of appealing before the county's Board of Assessment Appeals this summer.

Residents who receive the next batch of assessments, to be mailed this week, will have until March 24 to set up appeals. Those who receive assessment information mailed next week will have until March 31.

Vandermark said that today the company will have five operators answering telephones connected to the number listed on assessment notices: 610-379-1033.

The two additional lines will be set up Tuesday.

Vandermark said he was surprised to hear that people had lots of trouble getting through, despite the phone line problems. He said Monday that the office wasn't very busy and said on Tuesday the phones didn't seem to be ringing constantly.

The Morning Call found it was difficult to get through either day.

Reporters called the number 13 times in three hours Monday and got through once. On Tuesday, reporters called every 10 minutes from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, and two of the 24 calls got through.

Mary Ann Ritenour, a Nesquehoning homeowner, got fed up after getting a busy signal all morning Tuesday and went to Cole-Layer-Trumble's office in Lehighton, in the 1st Ward Professional Building, 325 Alum St.

`I guess I tried to call about 15 times,` she said.

Joe Fiorentino of Lehighton also decided to go to the office after being unable to get through all morning.

David Ratajczak, director of Carbon County's Tax Assessment Office, said people who couldn't get through to Cole-Layer-Trumble have been calling his office.

He said his office can't help the callers because Cole-Layer-Trumble has the assessment information.

`I would advise them to get a larger phone bank,` Ratajczak said.

His office has been giving out Cole-Layer-Trumble's nonpublicized numbers, but the company said those numbers shouldn't be used because callers won't get someone who can help them unless they call the correct number.